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Demand for timber on the Tongass will increase steadily over the 

 next few years and the days of deficit sales and uncut sales are a 

 thing of the past. All of the so called "economic" arguments 

 against timber harvesting no longer have validity and the "450" 

 will not be adequate to supply the needs of the industry. 



The question of the long term sales is straight forward. Good, bad 

 or indifferent, a deal is a deal. The contracts, as any first year 

 law student knows, can't simply be repealed. If the Government 

 wants the timber back then it will have to negotiate with and pay 

 the parties involved. 



From our point of view, a viable pulp industry is required to 

 handle the large percentage of the timber stands that are highly 

 defective and cannot be manufactured into saw logs or veneer (up to 

 50% of some stands) . In other words, a fully integrated industry 

 is necessary to maximize utilization of the available timber. 



A decline in the timber industry will have a devastating affect in 

 the rural villages of our Native people. Many depend directly or 

 indirectly on a healthy forest products industry. We know that 

 economic decline in the rural areas leads to dependency on 

 government and welfare programs, significantly increased alcoholism 

 and suicide among the Native people. On a larger scale, a decline 

 in one of the three important industries in Southeast means an 

 overall economic decline for the whole region and affects every 

 single individual. 



